March 9, 2013 - The International Association of
Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) cited the
threat to 1,400 American jobs in its call for a
reversal of the recent U.S. Air Force contract
favoring Brazilian-based Embraer over Wichita,
KS-based Beechcraft Corp.

On February 27, 2013, the Air Force announced it
selected Embraer for an initial contract worth
$427.5 million to build and deliver 20 Light Air
Support aircraft to the Afghan Air Force.

The selection process is now facing intense
scrutiny for choosing a significantly more
expensive aircraft in the midst of sequestration
and failing to consider the impact on U.S.
workers, the U.S. industrial base and U.S.
national security interests.

"We should be very concerned whenever U.S.
taxpayer dollars are used to create hundreds of
jobs in any foreign country," said IAM President
Tom Buffenbarger. "We should be outraged when
the loss of those jobs also threatens vital U.S.
economic and national security interests.

"I don't know why the U.S. government is bending
over backwards to accommodate Brazil in the
midst of sequestration, but this is a real blow
to American workers and taxpayers," added
Buffenbarger. "The claim by Embraer that most of
their plane would be 'built in the USA' adds
insult to the injury of the 1,400 jobs that will
be destroyed here at home."

The IAM represents more than 3,000 active and
laid off workers at Beechcraft, which recently
emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.
In 2012, IAM members ratified a new contract
with Beechcraft that preserved pensions for
employees while giving the 80-year old company
the needed financial lift for a successful
restructuring.

"In the midst of an industry-wide crisis,
Beechcraft partnered with its employees and
union representatives to give this storied
company a new lease on life," said Buffenbarger.
"It would be a cruel irony if they survived the
great recession only to be mowed down by a
misguided bidding process that favored a foreign
nation over U.S. national interests."

Beechcraft announced that it will formally protest to
the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) the U.S.
Air Force’s (USAF) recent award of the Light Air Support
contract to its Brazilian competitor, Embraer. An
estimated 1,400 jobs in Kansas and other states are in
jeopardy as a result of the Air Force decision.

“Following
our debrief with the Air Force earlier this week, we are
very perplexed by this decision,” said Bill Boisture,
CEO, Beechcraft. “Our belief that we have the best
aircraft was confirmed by the Air Force rating our
aircraft ‘exceptional’ and the fact that we are the
lower cost solution was confirmed by the USAF’s public
award announcement.”

Last year, an Air Force investigation found evidence of
bias toward Brazil-based Embraer and its Nevada-based
partner, Sierra Nevada (SNC), which led to the decision
to restart the competition. Although SNC later sued the
Air Force attempting to enforce the biased decision,
U.S. Court of Federal Claims Judge Christine O.C. Miller
wrote in her Nov. 1, 2012, opinion that based on the
investigation’s evidence of bias “the Air Force’s
decision to cancel the contract award to SNC and
re-solicit proposals was reasonable and rational and
should stand.”

“We simply don’t understand how the Air Force can
justify spending over 40 percent more over $125 million
more for what we consider to be less capable aircraft,”
Boisture said. “Given our experience of last year and
our continued strong concern that there are again
significant errors in the process and evaluation in this
competition, we are left with no recourse other than to
file a protest with the GAO. The Air Force needs to make
the right decision for the nation and our future
allies.”